The posters were taped up all over the halls of my junior high school. With colorful letters and shiny finishes, you couldn’t miss the encouraging messages that said things like, “You can do it!” or “Believe in yourself.” As a junior high school student, I didn’t see anything wrong with these messages. It seemed like a good idea to encourage people to have better self-esteem. But the more I think about those posters that encouraged me to “have faith in myself,” the more uncomfortable I become.
Should I really have faith in myself to accomplish things? It’s almost scary to think that I am my own source of strength. What if I fail? I started to wonder what the Bible says about where my strength comes from.
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
The first part of this verse says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live…” What can this mean? I’m still here breathing, going to school, work, and doing lots of things. Am I not living? The verse continues, “…but Christ lives in me.” The apostle Paul wrote this to say that when we become Christians, we are no longer our old selves, but new creations in Christ. It is now Christ who lives through us.
I started to wonder what it means to give up my old self. Does the fact that I am a new creation mean that I have to give up everything that makes me me? If so, I knew this Christian thing was going to be too much for me. I kind of like me most of the time. I like my friends and my activities. Do I have to give up everything I like and never wear make-up or cute clothes again?! Didn’t God create me to be a unique daughter of His? Of course He did, and the things I like about myself are probably the very traits God created in me and intended for me to develop and use for His glory. I should focus on leaving behind the things that are displeasing or distract me from God, and on becoming the best me I can be, which is someone who serves Him with the unique personality He has given me. In doing this, I become more the person God always intended me to be.
God created us to love and serve Him, and the Bible tells us that we can serve God in anything that we do. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” (Colossians 3:23) This means that we can do our schoolwork, hobbies, and have friendships all for the glory of the Lord and not for ourselves.
God is the one who gives us strength to do “all things” in our lives. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13) If we try to “believe in ourselves” like the messages around us encourage us to, we will only be disappointed. We are sure to mess up and fall short in nearly everything. Instead of thinking that we can do something, let’s let God do something amazing through us. Instead of girl power, let’s see the God power working in our lives, and instead of self-esteem, let’s focus on God-esteem, as the Creator of the universe works through us!
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph. 2:10)
By: Katie Quinn
Copyright, www.virtuousreality.com
